Iris Goes to School

It is still a little strange to think that I have a child old enough to be going to school, but it's true. Iris is now a big Kindergartner. She could not wait to go. She was very very ready and though I am sad to admit it, so was I. She needed more to challenge her brain than I could give her.

So we got up that morning and got all dressed (her school is a uniform school) and did her hair all pretty. Then ate a good breakfast.

She was so excited to finally use her backpack!

We, of course, had to have a big photo shoot of her first day. I am going to try and remember to make these signs for the kids every year on their first day. It will make it easier to remember the exact day and  what grade they were going into.

Some photos with all the siblings. I can't wait until they are all in school and we can look back at this photo and remember how small they all were. I love that Clara is holding all her toys and looking like the little ragamuffin that she is.

She has grown so much!! I love that cheesy forced smile.

Aunt Kathy (aka Aunt Taffy) and Uncle Don and Hunter came to watch Iris get on the bus and wish her well at her first day of school.

The proud parents. 

The whole family. 

Walking to the bus stop. 

Iris and her entourage.

A few more photos before the bus comes.

Our next door neighbor, Ramya, also started Kindergarten that day. They were so happy to be going together.

Just waiting for the bus to come and get my big sister. I think Donevan was a little sad that Iris would be gone all day. I can tell he misses her.

The bus finally came. So exciting!!

Here I go!

We watched her get on the bus then met her at the school to see her get off the bus and walk her to her class. 

One of her best friends, Killian, was in her class so they walked to class together.

Ms. Mueller is such a great teacher. She is actually a friend of ours and we were grateful that Iris was in her class. We knew she would be in good hands.

Finding their cubbies and hanging up their backpacks.

So glad to have a close friend to share this exciting day with!

Finding their name tags.

Found a book and jumped right in.

Waiting for everyone else to get to class.

Giving goodbye hugs to Iris. We will miss her.

Good bye parents!!

She was in class number 42.

When Daddy met her after school, he brought her some roses. Talk about making a girl's day. What a good daddy. He watched her get on the bus so she could ride it home.

There was some mix-up on the bus ride home and the girls got off at the wrong stop. I have never been so glad that a third-grader had a cell phone. Our neighbors called their oldest girl and we were able to find them without too much trouble. So blessed to have good neighbors.

Iris had a great first day and has been doing amazing since. She loves school and astounds me with how well she is doing already. She learns something new every day. Donevan loves asking her "What did you learn today?" when he sees her after school.

I look forward to all the first days of school as they all get older. I remember it always being an exciting day for me. New grade, new teacher, lots of possibilities. I hope they get as excited about school and learning as I did. 

Our Family Continues to Grow

I know it's been a long time since my last post so I'm just gonna start posting random things to try and get caught up. They won't be in any chronological order but just whatever I feel like posting at the moment. Or whatever pics I happen to be going through. 

So to start I am going to talk about probably the most important event that has happened in the past year...the birth of our 4th child! This is a really long post with a lot of pictures. Just so you know. 

It all started the day before Easter Sunday, April 7, 2012. We were up and getting ready to head to our friends, Adrian and Kristen Dominguez's house for an Easter egg hunt and brunch. I made a little breakfast and was making stuff to take to the brunch. The kids were all eating and I suddenly felt like I was peeing my pants so I ran into the bathroom. I came out and went back to what I was doing when I had to run back into the bathroom. When I came out I told Evan to Google what it feels like when your water breaks. He looked at me like I was crazy. While he was looking it up, I finished what I was doing and getting everyone ready to go. After reading some things online, I decided to call my doctor's office to see what I should do. I wasn't having any contractions so I didn't want to go rushing to the hospital if I wasn't even ready. I have never had my water break on its own so I wasn't even sure that's what had happened. I quickly packed a bag for the hospital, just in case. The nurse told me since I wasn't sure if it was my water breaking to wear a pad and if it was wet at all in the next hour or so to come into the hospital. So we all loaded up in the car and headed out. Nobody could believe I was there if my water had broken. But being the mom I am, I didn't want the kids to miss the Easter egg hunt. Luckily, my lovely sister Haley, was also coming to the hunt and we worked out for her to take the kids and our van and we would take her car to the hospital. Since the pad was indeed wet, that's where we were headed. Crazy morning to say the least! My water broke around 8:00 and by the time we got to the hospital and I was all hooked up to the monitors it was around 11:30.

They checked to make sure that my water really did break and then I started having contractions. 

They were starting to get pretty strong so I decided to go ahead and get the epidural. That was around 1:00ish. The anesthesiologist was amazing! He was so good about explaining everything he was doing and was just really friendly.

After the epidural I got some relief and rested for a little bit. Then the contractions started getting really strong and I could feel a lot of pressure like the baby was coming out. So they called the doctor (which unfortunately wasn't my regular doctor, Dr. Mellum, but was a different (but still great) doctor, Dr. Klose). He asked Evan if he would like to be the one to deliver the baby. Evan was excited. So the doctor came in and he and Evan got their gowns on. That was about 3:10.

And at 3:16 Clark Soren Zinser was born. Notice the clock on the wall in the picture above. It reads 3:13. Evan took that picture, got a gown on, and delivered the baby. Basically one push and the little guy was out. I am so blessed to have quick labors. My babies come fast!

Love at first sight!

Such a handsome little guy.

Dr. Klose did such a great job. Even though I was sad my regular doctor couldn't be there, I was very happy with Dr. Klose. I think Evan will always remember being able to actually deliver this baby.

He was the biggest baby so far. He weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces and was 20 inches long. Such a strong and healthy baby boy.

It always amazes me that being only minutes old, they can already make such adorable facial expressions. 

Such perfect little fingers and toes.

How in the world was all of this cuteness scrunched up inside my belly??

"A mother's arms are made of tenderness and sweet sleep blesses the child who lies therein."

-Victor Hugo

The beaming mama and daddy.

And then the phone calls begin. At the Easter party there were bets as to what time he would actually come. So we had to let everyone know all the details.

How in the world did I get so lucky as to have such beautiful babies?

Aunt Haley bringing the kids to meet their new brother.

This was the best picture of all the kids. Kind of a challenge to get them all to look at the camera at the same time. They all loved him right away.

Iris couldn't wait to hold him. She is my number one helper with him. Can't believe she has gotten so big. I love that she loves her younger siblings so much.

Donevan absolutely couldn't wait to have a brother. He is so excited for the day that Clark will be old enough to play cars with. He keeps telling me all the things he is going to teach him.

Yvonne was one of the best nurses I have ever had. I loved having her as my nurse and wish I could guarantee she would be my nurse every time.

The kids got to help push him down to the nursery. So proud to be the big sister and brother.

This is the button they push every time a baby is born. It plays a lullaby over the intercom so that everyone in the hospital knows that a baby was just welcomed into the world.

Big sisters and brother watching Clark in the nursery.

Can't stand how cute tiny little baby feet are. So adorable!

Cousins Kanigh and Kade came with Nonnie to see the newest addition. Everyone is happy to meet the little guy.

Clark wasn't too impressed with his first bath. 

It always feels so good to be fresh and clean. Makes ya wanna take a nap.

Nonnie came into town as soon as she could to help Aunt Haley with all the kiddos. Thank goodness for amazing family members who are so willing to help out.

This picture just melts my heart. Evan is such an amazing father. I am incredibly blessed to have a husband who is so in love with his children. 

Getting ready to head home. Loved this cute little monkey outfit I happened to get a few days before. 

Can't help myself. Those cheeks are just begging to be kissed!

Even though it wasn't the easiest car to put a carseat in, Evan thought it would be a good memory if he rode home for the first time in the Camaro (or Lightening McQueen as Donevan refers to it).

Welcome Home Clark! And Happy Easter!

This little girl totally surprised me with how much she wanted to hold him. She LOVED it. She would get really mad when we told her it was someone else's turn to hold him. In her eyes Clark was HER baby and no one else should be allowed to hold him.

Nothing like the love of a big brother for his little brother. So precious.

Nonnie finally got a chance to hold the little man. 

Aunt Haley getting in on the baby holding action. What a big yawn!

Grandpa Dahl getting some snuggles.

It makes my heart happy to see how much my kids love each other. There are days I need to look at these photos a million times to remind myself that they really don't want to kill each other and even though they fight and argue, deep down they really truly love each other.

So there you have it...the story of how our family of five became a family of six. It's still a little weird to me that I have 4 children, but every day it amazes me how much I love them and how much they just fit into our family. I can't imagine our life without any of them. It is even a little strange to think about life before any of them. They each bring such a different personality to our home. I know I keep saying it, but I am so blessed.